Monsoon remains weak, rainfall surplus falls to 10 per cent

NEW DELHI: Monsoon continued to be weak on Thursday, reducing the rainfall surplus so far this season to 10 per cent. But water levels in major reservoirs were 45 per cent more than the average for this time of the year, helped by June rains which were 16 per cent more than normal.

Rainfall in the past 24 hours was less than half the normal level. Saurashtra and Kutch were completely dry in the past day, while Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh recorded a 10 per cent shortfall.

The weather office, which expects a 12 per cent deficit in the June-September season, maintained its forecast and expects the monsoon to weaken in July and August. However, the increase in soil moisture due to surplus rains so far and higher water levels in dams would help the country handle the situation if the monsoon weakens in the months ahead.



The Central Water Commission, which monitors major reservoirs that feed hydropower plants and irrigate fields, said the situation had improved significantly. It said the water level was 145 per cent of the 10-year average for this time and 129 per cent of last year.

States where the water levels in dams are less compared with last year include Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The position is better in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, Tripura, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which is expected to aid planting of paddy, sugarcane, soyabean, cotton, maize, pulses and millets.

Apart from Saurashtra and Kutch, the other regions that saw weak rainfall in 24 hours include Punjab and Gujarat, with a deficit of 99 per cent, Haryana (91 per cent), Jammu & Kashmir (95 per cent), Madhya Maharashtra (94 per cent) and coastal Andhra Pradesh (93 per cent). The seasonal deficit was the highest in Nagaland, Manipur Mizoram and Tripura at 33 per cent, followed by Bihar at 32 per cent. On Thursday, both regions got half the normal rain.

Weak rains led to a rise in minimum temperatures by 2-3°C at many places in the east, south and west.